Archive for July, 2009

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: One of our sources has told me for a couple of days that he does believe the release of the toxicology report will come next week. Having said that, anything can happen, so we remain prepared to cover the release when it is anounced. This all comes as we also prepare for the court battle coming Monday over custody of the Jackson children and control of his will. I have just been e-mailed this statement from the Special Administrators listed in the 2002 Jackson will, who are preparing for that courtroom battle on Monday. Since being appointed by the Probate Court as Special Administrators of the Estate of Michael Jackson, John Branca and John McClain, who were specifically designated by Michael Jackson in his will to be executors of his Estate, have been focused on preserving Michael’s legacy and carrying out his wishes. According to two of my sources from different offices involved in this search…..They insist, this is NOT a raid. A raid “is when we go in with guns, knock down doors and arrest people.” He continues, “This is serving a search warrant as part of an intense ongoing investigation.”
The Special Administrators have and will continue to provide timely information to Mrs. Jackson’s counsel regarding potential business opportunities for the Estate. Any inference that we have not been forthcoming in providing information to Katherine Jackson’s attorneys is not accurate.
There is one agreement being requested by Mrs. Jackson’s attorneys where the other party to the contract has agreed to provide the document to Mrs. Jackson and her attorneys but requested that the terms be kept confidential and not be shared with third parties. Mrs. Jackson’s lawyers have refused that offer.
Based on comments made on The Today Show by one of Mrs. Jackson’s attorneys it appears that they want to rewrite Michael’s will to make Mrs. Jackson “Guardian of the Estate” and have her appointed as an Executor and Trustee of Michael Jackson’s Estate.
In his will Michael was very specific that his mother act as the Guardian of his children and that Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain be the Executors of his Will and Trustees of his Trust.

FROM TUESDAY:
The reason why the raid is taking place in Las Vegas today and not last week is due to complications with obtaining a search warrant on Dr. Murray’s home. As one tells me “Justice is sometimes slow and there is a strict protocol and method we have to follow. This is not a totalitarian state and we have to absolutely respect the right of someone being investigated like Dr. Murray.”
6 Agencies are taking part (state, Fed and local). This is very similar to last weeks search warrant in Houston. It is under seal, initiated by Las Vegas Police and led by LAPD. The investigators are looking for documents and records. They are building a very detailed case and much of this stuff can’t easily be destroyed without obvious.
The DEA is taking part in this investigation NOT due to a possible manslaughter investigation. They are strictly looking at Doctor Murray and his connection to the drugs involved in this case and possibly others.
Remember, last week we reported there might be more searches of locations connected to Dr. Murray.
I am also told: Investigators DO NOT feel that Dr. Murray is a flight risk. As of right now, they don’t expect to arrest him any time soon, but that could always change on short notice. They suggest this investigation closely resembles the Anna Nicole investigation, which took months to wrap up.
I am also told, “prosecuting a person in a case like this is extremely difficult and some prosecutors would argue almost impossible. It is so hard to prove.”

This video comes to me from our friends at the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Museum of Tolerance here in Southern California. The interview shows that the battle for freedom continues against Iran’s hard-line regime. Even though the media has been thrown out, in this day and age the truth still trickles out.

It was just a couple of years ago when Pepperdine asked me to be one of a few people to tape a welcome interview to Walter Cronkite. As a very young child I can remember my grandparents watching ‘The Most Trusted Man’ from their sofa in Sunnyvale California. Even as a child, his voice was iconic and yet captivating at the same time. For me, a boy who dreamed of baseball, watching the news was something my family enjoyed, but not yet my dream. Cronkite, and here in the Bay Area Van Amburg, provide my earliest memories of the industry I would later come to love.
On the night I met Cronkite, he was gracious, welcoming and nice. Lester Holt, who had a son at Pepperdine at the time, asked questions in a conversational format. It was an enjoyable night and I take away from it good memories and this very cool picture.

Susan Boyle – Semi Final 1 – Britains Got Talent 2009 (HQ)The British tabloids built her up and then did their darn best to tear her down….but what a brilliant return. Good for her! She ended up finishing second.